Univeristy of Pennsylvania

Prostaglandin D2? I’ll add a label when you’ve found me a name I can work with

The Research

One of the biggest hair loss news items of 2012 came early in the year when dermatologists from the University of Pennsylvania announced that they had found an enzyme, called prostaglandin D2 (PGD2), that they believe instructs hair follicles to stop producing hair.

After screening 250 genes implicated in hair loss they concluded that the one responsible for levels of PGD2 played “the major role”. In 17 men with hair loss, PGD2 levels were found to be three times higher in bald spots than in hairy areas.